Deakin orders pro-Palestine camp eviction, students refuse to move
Deakin has become the first university in Australia to order the dismantling of a controversial pro-Palestine encampment — a move former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg says all vice-chancellors should immediately follow.
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Pressure is mounting to dismantle university encampments across the country, with protesters vowing to resist any move-on orders and warning of a US-style reaction.
Former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday called for all Australian universities to follow the lead of Deakin and pull down their “camps of hate”.
His comments followed Deakin University becoming the first Australian university to order a shutdown of its pro-Palestine encampment at its Burwood campus, with deputy vice-chancellor Kerrie Parker penning a letter to organisers stating the camp had “compromised” the health and safety of staff and students.
“At last the penny has dropped, with Deakin University committed to clearing the campus camps of hate,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“Our universities must be safe spaces for learning and education, not indoctrination.
“All our universities should follow Deakin’s lead, bringing an end to these encampments and taking a strong and principled stand against the anti-Semitism, violence and hate we have seen across Australia in recent months.”
But protesters have vowed they won’t go quietly, calling on others to join them to defend the camp at a rally tonight. Organiser Jasmine Duff said yesterday the protest would only grow if police and security tried to move them on.
“We know based on the US experience that when police are brought on to university campuses student protests only grow,” she said.
“We expect if police or security are brought in then more and more students and staff will join the encampment and come out and support.”
In a statement posted to Instagram, Deakin Students for Palestine demanded to meet with vice-chancellor Professor Iain Martin, saying the camp would “not be moved”.
Other major Victorian universities have so far not followed Deakin’s lead.
RMIT and Monash universities refused to say whether they had plans to shut down camps on their campuses.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare acknowledged Deakin and Monash universities were taking action to address protests on campuses.
Mr Clare said he had told university vice-chancellors that the most important job was ensuring that students and staff were safe, and that codes of conduct were enforced.
“The responsibility rests with them about how they do this, and they’ve got to take appropriate legal advice, but also advice from authorities like the police,” he said.
Asked if encampments should be forcibly broken up, Mr Clare said: “People have got a right to protest, but they’ve got to do it peacefully”.
“There’s no place for hate or intimidation or intolerance,” he said.
“There’s certainly no place for anti-Semitism, whether it’s at university or anywhere else in the country.”
Meanwhile, a University of Melbourne spokesman said they were deeply concerned about the disruptive intent of some external visitors to its Parkville campus as a result of the demonstrations.
On Tuesday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “river to the sea” chant that has been used widely on campuses was a “provocative act”.
“It’s beyond me why people would think that it advances their cause to engage in this sort of behaviour,” he said.
Senior state Liberal MP David Southwick has started a petition calling to end university encampments, which has received more than 5000 signatures.
“I have been overwhelmed with calls from students who are feeling unsafe on campus and are choosing to stay home because of the confrontations they are facing,” Mr Southwick said.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said dismantling the Deakin encampment was a “welcome” and “overdue” move.
“These encampments are a nuisance, a disfigurement of campus grounds and have become hubs for promoting a violent and racist ideology,” Mr Ryvchin said.
Protesters confront La Trobe vice chancellor
La Trobe Vice-Chancellor Prof Theo Farrell was confronted by pro-Palestine protesters at the university’s Bundoora campus on Tuesday, a week after the group set up an encampment.
In a video posted to social media, Prof Farrell told protesters it wasn’t polite to “point a camera at my face” when he was approached by the pair.
“I don’t think it’s polite to kill 35,000 Palestinians,” one student said in response.
Another student added: “when 30,000 people are dead, the entire infrastructure of education in Gaza has been bombed, the healthcare infrastructure has been bombed, there’s no capacity for students in Gaza just like us to get an education.”
“So we don’t think it’s polite actually for La Trobe to use our money to have connections with this regime,” she said.
The pair invited Prof Farrell to speak at a rally to be held at their encampment on Wednesday.
In response, Prof Farrell said: “I respect your right to protest, I just don’t like your camera pointed in my face.”
As he walked away, the pair described the Vice-Chancellor’s response as “disgraceful” before sharing the encampment won’t end until the university cuts ties with Israel and weapon manufacturing companies.
Protesters disrupt Israeli event at Monash University
On Monday night, more than a hundred pro-Palestine protesters gathered on Monash University’s College Lawn to protest against a Jewish event commemorating Israeli victims of terror.
The protesters, wearing keffiyehs and high-vis vests, called on supporters to “disrupt” the university’s Yom HaZikaron event, which honours those killed in terrorist attacks, including fallen soldiers.
On Tuesday, pro-Israel and pro-Palestine supporters met again outside Monash’s “solidarity with Gaza” encampment for a brief, mostly civil, protest.
About 30 pro-Palestine protesters formed a human chain around the front of their camp, in a bid to “protect” it from outsiders.
They chanted a number of controversial slogans including “free Palestine” and “Israel, USA how many kids have you killed today”.
Meanwhile a group of Jewish students bared multiple Israel flags about five meters away from the encampment and yelled their own chants in response.
Jewish students told the Herald Sun they didn’t feel safe attending Monash University because of the group.
“We want to understand why (the pro-Palestine supporters) don’t like us but it’s hard because they don’t want to have a conversation with any of us, they just start screaming,” one student said.
“No Jewish student, religious or not, should be afraid to wear their Kippah or raise an Israeli flag because at the end of the day these are the values that we live by.”
One Jewish student attempted to have a conversation with organisers of the pro-Palestine rally but was shut down, with the group yelling pro-Palestine slogans over the top of him.
Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism — Premieres Tuesday May 28 at 7pm. Stream at SkyNews.com.au or download the Sky News Australia app
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